Archives: Artists

My art is a response to nature; landscape, weather, movement and light. Looking at plants, water or a wider scene, mark making and multiple layering, the dominant theme is the universal struggle for adaptation and survival. Ecological interactions, personal emotions and the physical processes of expressive drawing and painting conjure up intriguing parallels with the complexities and challenges of life.

Sophie Poulton-Meeking is a wildlife sculptor whose work is grounded in a profound reverence for the natural world.  From an early age, life on a smallholding, marked by a passion for breeding birds, fostered a fascination with observing wildlife in its natural habitat. With her love of the natural world and a natural pull towards art, particularly three-dimensional form, she pursued a degree in figurative sculpture at the prestigious Wimbledon School of Art in London, where she built a strong foundation in anatomy and form. Now working from her studio in rural Hampshire, Sophie creates bronze sculptures inspired by time spent observing animals in their natural environments, with a particular affinity for birds, whose movement and presence continue to inspire her.

Working intuitively with clay and wax, her process is both expressive and instinctive, always seeking to capture the living essence of her subject rather than a mere likeness. Each piece is an attempt to hold a fleeting moment of connection, a sense of life, energy, and spirit embodied in form.

Sophie undertakes both private and public commissions, and her sculptures have been exhibited throughout the UK and collected internationally. She collaborates with Sculpture Castings, a leading Hampshire foundry, employing traditional bronze casting methods to translate her work into enduring material form.

Since graduating from Liverpool University in 1996 with a first class combined honours degree in Fine Art and psychology, I have been practicing my art in a studio just outside Burford, Oxfordshire.

My work at the moment is concerned with challenging sculptural space, through the creation of work which is wall, ceiling or floor based. Throughout my work, there is a base awareness and interest in line, form and balance.

I am excited by the thought of creating a unique visual language with my work, an individual way in which one is describing and interpreting a journey through life and responses to stimuli, feelings and emotions.

The environment and location around my studio bares influence on my work with agricultural links to the land and landscape of the earth!

There is also a strong influence of the sea and things watery in my work, born from visits to Devon and Cornwall and perhaps a desire to live by the sea.

In my sculpture, I mainly work with mild steel, stainless steel, found metal objects, stone and wood.

I usually work to commission but also exhibit in galleries and one-off shows throughout the country. My work is now in private collections around the world.

Please contact Kingfisher Art for prices of Christopher’s work.

 

Marie Shepherd has always been fascinated with forms and movement and this reflects so well in her sculptures. She likes to explore various facets of sculpture from the sensitivity and dynamism of the human form to humour in animals or the pleasing shape of fruits.

She draws a lot of her inspiration from the wildlife around her.

Her favorite material is plaster but she also works in clay, wax and her sculptures are then cast in either bronze or bronze resin. The sculpture takes form and evolves as it is created. The final creation is a moment captured.

Originally from Brittany, Marie lives with her family in Oxfordshire where she pursues her passion for sculpture. Her work has been exhibited and selling in the UK and abroad since 2007. She is an active member of the Oxford Sculptors Group.

Her works can be found in collections in the UK, on the Continent, the US and in NZ.

Jessica Leighton was born in Bogota, Colombia where she spent the earlier stages of her life before moving to the Cotswolds. It was her exposure to the vibrant and bold colours of South America and her travels that have fuelled her passion for portraying on canvas the different landscapes she comes across.

Jessica’s paintings depict the countryside in different seasons blending together her South American roots with the scenery and seasonal crops of the Cotswolds. Jessica uses mixed media including newspaper, seeds, buttons, coins, mod rock and beads which continue the recurring theme of the countryside. Jessica applies layers of paint which are then scratched away and often adds a collage of paper to her images before and during the application of paint which creates added texture. The pulses and seeds are a representation of the fibrous harvest. The coins and buttons are a symbol of crop rotation and their circular shape depict the ongoing cycle of mixed agriculture.

Texture, composition and light are key factors in capturing the landscapes. Her paintings are very much about shapes and patterns with the main aim of making the shapes interesting to look at not only from afar but up close as well.

 

Maureen is a visual artist who is driven to paint things that capture her eye. In most cases inspiration comes from sea and landscapes. She works from her studio based in Oxfordshire. Maureen’s work is increasingly in demand and she has exhibited widely in the Cotswold’s, Ireland, Jersey and France.

In 2015, Maureen was awarded a two week ‘Artist Residency’ at Cill Rialaig Project in the spiritual retreat of Ballinskelligs, County Kerry, Ireland. She also qualified as a finalist with two pieces of her work at The Poseytude Gallery in Oxford, which specialises in promoting the work of emerging artists on the rise.

Maureen used acrylics in her earlier paintings but now works mostly in oils and pastel. She loves the effect these mediums can bring to a painting. She has two distinct styles and prefers to use a variety of techniques. Many of her figurative works are done using brushes, however for abstract work she likes to use pallet knife, fingers or sponges to gain the desired effect.

​During this time I returned to painting more seriously.  I have attended numerous courses and workshops in and around Oxford – Brookes University, Royal Academy of Art and at the School of Painting in St Ives – exploring various techniques and processes whilst developing my own style.  In 2016 I was accepted on the Intensive Development Porthmeor Programme at the School of Painting in St Ives and have exhibited with various galleries over the years.

I am striving to capture the light and essence of my subject, whether a seascape or still life, and to create a harmony and “stillness” in the finished piece.  I love the possibilities of charcoal and paint and being absorbed in the creative process.

 

 

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I am a Cotswold landscape painter, based in a studio at Painswick in Gloucestershire. I walk the valleys and hills, gaining my inspiration from the woods, meadows and hedgerows, painting ‘en plein air’ when possible. My aim is to capture the effects of the light on the land though the medium of oil paint with palette knife.

I am a self-taught artist, with my love and understanding of the countryside underpinned by reading land management at the Royal Agricultural University, and throughout my life living and working alongside farmers and foresters.

I try to find a way of expressing the wonder of nature and the landscape around me through the medium of oil paint on canvas. Nothing can replace being outside and experiencing the natural world in its raw state, but if I can at least capture the essence of it, I am happy. I hope to create an emotional response through my painting – whether it be a sense of peace and calm or drama and energy: evening light and shadows; cow parsley and hogweed on a wayside verge; water and reflections; mist, evaporation and sunshine after a rain storm; the gloaming; a church spire providing a focal point in the landscape…

I have been exhibiting my work and painting professionally for 15 years, and show my work widely throughout the Cotswolds and beyond. My current project is to hold a regular pop-up exhibition at locations throughout the Cotswolds, showing my art in the landscape that inspired them. I often sell paintings straight off the easel – I love the idea of people buying freshly produced paintings as they might buy freshly cut flowers.

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